SCOBEY – Following in her mom’s footsteps, or rather high kicks, Amanda Thievin achieved a childhood dream when she started dancing in the annual “Dirty Shame Show.”

“I got to see the show every year when I was little,” she said. “The little girls that see the show always want to be belles when they grow up.”

“The Dirty Shame Show” is a highlight of the annual Pioneer Days and Antique Show at the Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town.

This year’s celebration is June 28-29. The Dirty Shame Show has its first of five shows that weekend at 7 p.m., Friday, June 27.

The Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town re-creates the boom days of homesteading in Montana with more than 50 historical buildings. It’s a gem and a surprise in this town of 1,000 people in the state’s northeastern corner. Scobey is 54 miles north of Wolf Point and just 14 miles from Canada.

Visitors could spend a whole day looking at the preserved and furnished buildings that make up Pioneer Town, said Mike Stebleton, sports/features editor at the Daniels County Leader.

“There’s a lot of stuff to see,” he said.

Stebleton said a new addition to the town this year is 22 old-time street lights, sponsored by local organizations, families and individuals. The lights have electrical outlets and water hookups for vendors too.

“They look really neat when they light up at dusk,” he said.

Stebleton’s favorites among the town’s buildings is the Rex Theater. The theater began as a granary in 1908 but became a community center, with basketball games, traveling shows and eventually movies shown at the theater, which closed in 1968.

“It’s always fun going in there,” he said.

The Rex Theater, with a distinctive log front and big sign, also hosts the “Dirty Shame Show.”

“The name comes from back in Prohibition Days. There was a speakeasy in town, the story goes, and when the federal agents showed up for a bust, you’d open a trap door and all the bottles would shatter, destroying the evidence,” Stebleton said. “They pulled the lever and one guy said, that’s a dirty shame.”

This year is the 51st anniversary of the show, which is a combination of Vaudeville, comedy skits, ensembles and Dixieland jazz.

The show makes the most of Scobey’s reputation for musical excellence, from the school to the community Prairie Symphonette.

“The show is a little bit of everything,” said Stebleton, director of the show for five years. “The town is very musical.”

The Dirty Shame Belles do a chorus line and several odd-fashioned dances, such as the Charleston and the can-can.

The theater seats 240 for each of the five shows.

“The big moneymaker for the whole weekend is the five shows,” he said. “All the businesses are open in the town. We have a bunch of old cars, tractors and steam engines, and a parade at 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.”

The family-friendly event leaves people with a big smile, Stebleton said.

“Visitors are surprised to see this in Scobey. They really like it, and it’s always fun,” he said.

Kim Kittelson, a Scobey native in Plentywood, said Pioneer Days is a great time to return home. She made it back last year for the parade.

“I think ‘The Dirty Shame Show’ is the best part,” she said. “Also, I love that people can go inside the old buildings rather than just looking in.”

Thievin said the audience is always pleased with the show and costuming, saying it’s “as good if not better” than the Medora Musical in North Dakota.

“People can’t believe that the show has lasted for so long and that people are always willing to volunteer their time to put on a good show each and every year,” she said.

“Pioneer Town has a lot of great things to offer and is very unique,” she said. “People can see the history of Scobey and the surrounding area and view all the buildings for free during Pioneer Days.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at 791-1490 or by email at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com.

Visiting Pioneer Town

The living history museum is open afternoons daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the off-season, it’s open Friday afternoons and by appointment, at 7 West County Road in Scobey. Call 406-487-5965 for more information.